A prior electrical connector capable of detecting electronically whether male and female connector housings are in a correctly fitted state is described in JP-7-142122 (see FIG. 11 of this specification). This comprises: a connector housing 100 provided with an inclinable locking arm 101 and a short-circuiting terminal 102, which changes position when pushed by the locking arm 101. Another connector housing 103 is provided with a locking protrusion 104 and fitted with a detecting terminal 105. When the two connector housings 100 and 103 are being fitted together (a half-fitted state), the tip of the locking arm 101 is pressed down by the locking protrusion 104, the short-circuiting terminal 102 is thereby pushed and changes position and, as a result, the short-circuiting terminal 102 and the detecting terminal 105 do not make contact. When the two connector housings 100 and 103 are in a correctly fitted state, the locking arm 101 no longer experiences interference from the locking protrusion 104 and reverts resiliently to its original position. It then fits with the locking protrusion 104 to latch the connector housings 100 and 103. In addition, the resilient return of the locking arm 101 causes the short-circuiting terminal 102 to also revert to its original position and thereby make contact with the detecting terminal 105. That is, the fitted state can be detected by the presence or absence of an electrical circuit between the detecting terminal 105 and the short-circuiting terminal 102.
The detailed configuration of the short-circuiting terminal 102 is as follows. It is bent over at one end to form a U-shaped fulcrum 102a, and the other end has free edge and protrudes upwards to form a driven member 102c. The driven member 102c approaches the vicinity of the lower face of the locking arm 101. The anterior section of the rising portion of the driven member 102c forms a contact member 102d which makes contact with the detecting terminal 105.
The bending of the locking arm is used to detect whether the connector housings of the fitting detecting connector are in a fitted state. As a result, it is desirable that the short-circuiting terminal function performs in such a manner so as to reliably ensure that the short-circuiting terminal and the detecting terminal no longer make contact if the locking arm has bent and changed position even slightly, thereby reliably reflecting the movement of the locking arm, and clearly indicating whether the short-circuiting terminal and the detecting terminal are in contact.
However, in the configuration described above, the short-circuiting terminal 102 is bent towards the free end of the fulcrum 102a, and the contact member 102d and the driven member 102c are aligned with respect to each other. Consequently, the movement of the contact member 102d will necessarily be less than that of the driven member 102c. As a result, in a state when an adequate bending stroke of the locking arm is not maintained, the detecting function may be compromised. For example, comparatively large bending can be maintained in the case where the locking arm 101 has a cantilevered beam shape, but water-proof connectors often use see-saw-like locking arms. These see-saw locking arms have a small bending range, and the problem with the detecting function remains unresolved.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a short-circuiting terminal and a fitting detecting connector having the terminal attached therein in which the detecting function is improved.